Fla. governor to visit CT to lure businesses to his state

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By Joseph Wenzel IV

HARTFORD, CT — The governor of Florida is coming to Connecticut next week to lure business back to his state.

Rick Scott announced on his website on Thursday that he would try to get business based in Connecticut to move their operations to his state of Florida.

"The business environment in Connecticut simply cannot compete with everything Florida has to offer. That is why I am leading an economic development mission to Connecticut to share this message firsthand with job creators and site selectors next week," Scott said.

This trip was possible with $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund that gives businesses "more reasons" to invest in Florida.

"With the recent establishment of the $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund that the Legislature overwhelmingly passed last week, we have the important resources our state needs to encourage more businesses to choose Florida as the best destination to grow and create jobs. I look forward to meeting with Connecticut business leaders to explain how additional public infrastructure and individual job training through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund will help create new opportunities for them to grow in the Sunshine State," Scott said.

Scott said over the past six years, Florida has "cut more than $6.7 billion in taxes, reduced 4,800 burdensome regulations and made important investments to help create opportunities across Florida for future generations."

"With more than 1.35 million new jobs, an unemployment rate at a nearly 10-year low and a job growth rate that has exceeded the nation's for more than five consecutive years, there is no better place to grow a business than Florida. Meanwhile, Connecticut leaders are out of touch with business. Governor Malloy's administration has been trying, and failing, to tackle a budget deficit with an overwhelming collection of increased taxes and fees. Their job growth rate continues to lag far behind Florida and the nation, and Connecticut has lost more adjusted gross income and people to Florida than any other state in the nation," Scott said.

Eyewitness News has reached out to Gov. Malloy's office for a comment.

"It's no wonder that Governor Scott would look to Connecticut and be envious of what we have here. We foster a high quality of life, schools that are among the best in the nation, an incredibly skilled and knowledgeable workforce, and we're home to some of the best employers in the world," Kelly Donnelly, who is a spokesperson for Malloy, said in a statement on Thursday. "The truth is, no amount of money or effort will make up for the fact that Gov Scott is leading his state in the wrong direction. We are happy to host Mr Scott to show him a better way to serve his state, but if he's expecting anyone in Connecticut to buy what he's selling, he's better off saving his taxpayers the cost of the trip and staying home."

Scott has not announced exactly where or when he will visit Connecticut.

"Everyone's getting solicited almost daily," Oz Griebel, the president of the Metro Hartford Alliance, said

Griebel said Scott's approach may seem aggressive, but many states are trying to recruit businesses from all over the country right now. He said it's just the new economic reality.

"This is a highly competitive environment in which we live today," Griebel said. "The technology makes you a little more location indifferent because you can do so many different things...and proximity to talent becomes an ever more important element."